I respectfully disagree, Innocent users can simply make accounts on other instances. They're people, they can make their own decisions on what communities to partake in. If they're continuing to enjoy the community as it turns into a giant shit hole, how innocent can they really be?

If the admins in charge of the instance aren't controlling it, then defederation is an appropriate response. This is one of the key benefits of the fediverse, after all.

And yes, defederating won't stop the bigots from posting there, and they'll be correct in claiming they're being "silenced," because that's the point. Our goal is to remove their words from other instances that don't want to hear it. This makes them less effective because less people will see their messages.

Sure, a council would be nice, but that's just extra centralization and beauracracy. It's only as effective as the people involved can make it.